Crane Action at the Wilshire Grand Site

Passers by may have noticed the recent addition of a mobile crane to the massive Wilshire Grand construction site.  Perhaps Turner Construction is about to install a larger stationary crane?  Or maybe it has something to do with tomorrow's "bottoming out," ceremony.  Crews have now excavated the site down to 106 feet below street level, capping off a demolition process which began late in 2012.  Soon afterwards, the Wilshire Grand begins a three year climb to its 1,100 foot apex.  When opened in 2017, the tower will contain 900 hotel rooms and 400,000 square feet of office space within 73 stories.  No need to mention the 70th floor lobby and the rooftop pool/observation deck.  Can it please be 2017 already?

• Wilshire Grand "Construction" Update (Building Los Angeles)
• Wilshire Grand Project to Hit Bottom (Downtown LA News)

Mack Urban's New South Park Towers Revealed

1120 Grand Avenue (Image: DLANC)

Late last year, a joint venture between AECOM and developer Mack Urban announced plans for a $750 million mixed-use complex on six acres of South Park real estate.  The first phase of the development - a pair of low-rise structures on Pico Boulevard - was revealed in April to consist of 360 condominium units and roughly 6,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.  Now, take a look at phase two of the mega-project, courtesy of a presentation to the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council's Planning and Land Use Committee.

The largest of the two buildings would rise from a 1.6-acre parking lot at 1120 Grand Avenue.  Designs from architecture firm AC Martin call for a 37-story structure, containing 512 condominium units and slightly under 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and restaurant space.  The building would be served by a total of 752 parking spaces, situated on six above-grade and two below-grade levels.  Residential units would consist of a mixture of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, in addition to six townhouse units along the western side of the project site.  An outdoor deck atop the building's podium would provide an assortment of residential amenities, including a dog run, exercise space and a swimming pool.

The Mack Urban-AECOM towers are among the first high-rise developments to emerge since Los Angeles eliminated its longtime rooftop helipad mandate.  With that in mind, AC Martin has taken full advantage of the now relaxed policy in its designs for 1120 Grand Avenue.  The tower is to be adorned with a dramatic 100-foot spire, greatly augmenting the building's 386-foot roof height.

1155 Olive Street (Image: DLANC)

The second half of the project would rise from an adjacent parking lot at 1155 Olive Street.  Plans included with the presentation call for a 12-story building, featuring 154 studio and one-bedroom condominium units and slightly under 11,000 square feet of ground-level retail and restaurant space.  Parking accommodations for the mid-rise structure would be provided through the adjacent tower's garage.  The tower would also include substantial open space, in the form of outdoor terraces on its third and roof levels.

Due to its substantially lower height profile (142 feet above grade), 1155 Olive Street lacks the ability of its proposed neighbor to significantly impact the Downtown skyline.  However, AC Martin's designs include several architecture features which will help give the mid-rise tower visual prominence.  Most notably, plans call for the building to be framed by perforated metal panels and blue LED lighting.

The decision to move forward with a purely residential phase two represents a slight shift from an earlier proposal for 1155 Olive Street.  Plans submitted to the Department of Building and Safety earlier this year had called for the 12-story structure to feature a 300-room hotel.

According to the September development rundown from the Downtown News, Mack Urban and AECOM intend to commence work on both towers by the third quarter of 2015.

• Mack Urban Site 1 (DLANC)
• Mack Urban Wants to Start with Hotel and Residential Towers (Building Los Angeles)

Details Surface for Mixed-Use Development at Former Sunkist HQ

Image Credit: Los Angeles Daily News

In February 2013, news emerged that IMT Capital was planning a mixed-use development on a Sherman Oaks parcel which formerly housed the headquarters of the Sunkist Growers Cooperative.  Just over one year later, the Valley Village-based developer has finally submitted their project to the city for approval.  According to a recent case filing from LADCP, plans for the 8.5 acre site call for 298 residential units and an unspecified amount of ground floor commercial space.  The Daily News previously reported that the development would likely feature a grocery store, in addition to a greenway park along the banks of the LA River.  Located at 14130 Riverside Drive, the project site sits across the street from both a Trader Joe's supermarket and Westfield Fashion Square.  The new residential-retail complex will rise on current surface parking lots.  The existing structure, designed by AC Martin Partners, will be retained as office space.  Built in 1971, the three-story concrete building is a well known Valley landmark due to its visibility from the 101 freeway.  Sunkist was based out of 14130 Riverside Drive until last year, when they relocated to Valencia to be closer to their growers.

• IMT Buys Sunkist Building, Plans Addition (NREI)
• Landmark Sunkist Building in Sherman Oaks Part of Redevelopment Plan (Daily News)

First Renderings of Mack Urban's South Park Development

Although Mack Urban's upcoming South Park developments bring the exciting potential for new high-rises near the AT&T Center, the project also features a substantial low-rise component along Pico Boulevard.  Here is a first look, thanks to a presentation from the DLANC website.  Set to rise on adjacent parking lots between Olive and Hill Streets, this phase of the project consists of two seven-story buildings containing 360 condominiums and approximately 6,400 square feet of ground floor commercial space.  Designed by AC Martin Partners, the project features 23 townhouse units, in addition to standard residential amenities such as an outdoor pool and an on-site gym.  Residents will be served by a 382-car garage, with vehicular ingress and egress provided via an alley way at the center of the project site.  Automobile accommodations will be supplemented by 403 bicycle parking spaces.  This section of Pico Boulevard, currently surrounded by surface parking lots and nondescript commercial buildings, is poised for significant changes in the near future.  Besides Mack Urban's low-rise project, similar mixed-use developments are in the works from Jade Enterprises, the Wolff Company, and 4D Development.

The presentation also reveals that the project will offer 36,000 square feet of publicly accessible open space, located along Grand Avenue, Olive Street and Pico Boulevard.  Renderings from the Melendrez Design Group portray a series of grassy pocket parks, offering murals, generous seating, water features, and even room for food trucks.  The project offers a variety of streetscape improvements, including new trees, mid-block crossings and sidewalk bulb-outs.  AC Martin sets out to foster pedestrian activity in and around the development site by converting alley ways into inviting, landscaped paseos.  With the neighborhood slated for a residential construction binge over the next several years, setting aside pockets of land for green space will become all the more important.  As the presentation boldly proclaims, this project really is about putting the park in South Park.

• 1211 S. Hill Street Presentation (DLANC)
• Mack Urban Wants to Start with Hotel and Residential Towers (Building Los Angeles)

Mack Urban Wants to Start With Hotel and Residential Towers

Last week, the Downtown News reported that newly formed developer Mack Urban plans to construct hotel and residential towers on surface parking lots surrounding the AT&T Center.  According to a recent case filing with the Department of City Planning, the $750 million mixed-use project's first buildings will be two high-rise structures at the northeast corner of 12th Street and Grand Avenue.  The first tower, containing 461 residential units and 8,700 square feet of ground level retail space, would rise 41 stories at 1120 Grand Avenue.  The second, a 300-room hotel with 8,610 square feet of commercial space, would stand 12 stories high.  Designed by AC Martin, the joint venture between Mack Urban and AECOM would join the Wilshire Grand Center in utilizing the Los Angeles Fire Department's newly relaxed rooftop helipad policy.  Representatives of AC Martin previously informed the Architect's Newspaper that at least one building in the decade-long project would feature a "'sculpted' top."

Since a full build-out of the development's 1,500 residential units is not expected until 2024, later phases are understandably not as far along in the design process.  However, a preliminary massing created by AC Martin portrays a mixture of low-rise and high-rise structures on Mack Urban's other properties.  Several of these parcels were entitled for development under different ownership prior to the real estate crash (see below image).  Mack Urban's phase one site was originally intended for Indigo, a 42-story condo tower proposed by now-defunct Meruelo Maddux Properties.  The new AC Martin-designed project is comparable in scale to Meruelo Maddux's vision for the parcel, but its street level implementation is strikingly different.  Whereas Indigo would have covered most of the property with an above-ground parking structure, Mack Urban's project will instead focus on pedestrian engagement.  According to architect David C. Martin, plans call for "ground-level open space, outdoor cafes, arcades, paseos, and secret gardens...." As further evidence of this change in philosophy, parking accommodations will be hidden underground.

 Pre-recession proposals for two of Mack Urban's South Park properties.  Indigo, which was planned by Meruelo Maddux Properties, is on the left hand side.

In addition to Mack Urban, a litany of other developers have also zeroed in on this section of South Park during the past year.  On the opposite side of 12th Street, Beverly Hills-based developer Sonny Astani plans to break ground on a 640-unit low-rise project later this year.  Across Grand Avenue, another seven-story mixed-use development is planned for the former site of the Ponet Square Hotel.  A short walk east, Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises recently purchased two development sites adjacent to the former headquarters of the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner.  Although Forest City's plans are currently unknown, previous entitlements called for two towers of 24 and 37 stories.  For better or worse, reports indicate that Morphosis won't be sticking around to design the new iteration of the project.

• Mack Urban Plan Envisions More 'Park' in South Park (Downtown News)
• Case Information Summary Sheet (LADCP)
• Los Angeles Questions its Flat Topped Skyscrapers Again (Architect's Newspaper)
• DTLA South Park Properties (Mack Urban)
• Property Activity Report (LADBS)